Road flare



Sept. 22, 1964 B. R. KLINGER 3,149,566

ROAD FLARE Filed Feb. 9, 1962 IN VEN TOR.

BERNARD R. Kuuaae ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,149,566 ROAD FLARE Bernard R. Klinger, 18438 Pelkey, Detroit, Mich. Filed Feb. 9, 1962, Ser. No. 172,165 4 Claims. (Cl. 102--37.4)

This invention relates to road flares such as are used along a roadside in the event that it is necessary to stop for vehicle emergency repairs.

Conventional road flares which have been used for a long time comprise an elongated tubular member that is filled with a combustible material such as strontium nitrate that has a wood block in one end thereof and a spike in the block that is adapted to be pushed into the ground or roadway to hold the flare in upright position. A serious disadvantage of such a flare is that, after the flare is completely burned out, the spike and part or all of the block remain in the ground offering a serious hazard to the passage of vehicles or persons over that area. The spike can cause serious injury to a human foot or damage to the tires of automotive vehicles. For this reason, in some areas, it has been found necessary to periodically inspect the roadsides and pick up the spikes to prevent injury to persons or vehicles passing thereover.

It is an object of this invention to provide a novel road flare which, after being completely burned, leaves no spike or similar hazardous member on the roadway.

It is a further object of the invention to provide such a road flare which leaves only quickly disintegratable fragments upon burning.

Basically, the invention comprises utilizing a block of a material which is self extinguishing or noncombustible but disintegratable under heat as a base, such as a block of treated expanded polystyrene, and inserting a road flare therein of suitable material which has no spike and preferably no block of wood in the lower end thereof.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the road flare embodying the invention showing the flare member in storage position.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view, on a reduced scale, showing the road flare of FIG. 1 in the package for shipping and handling.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional View on an enlarged scale taken along the line 3-6 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of the road flare in position for use on a roadway.

FIG. 5 is a partly diagrammatic perspective view of the road flare after the flare member has burned out.

Referring to the drawings, the invention comprises a base made of a rectangular block of a material which is self extinguishing or noncombustible and which disintegrates underthe action of flame or. heat. A suitable matedesignation Styrofoam FR insulation board. Expanded polystyrene may be made in the manner described in US. Patent 2,023,204.

3,1495% Patented Sept. 22., 1964 on the order of less than 35 across the surface as estab- The term self extinguishing as used herein is intended to cover a material which will resist ignition by the burning flare and is .self-extinguishing as defined by ASTM test No. Dl692-59T; and which has a low flame spread lished by ASTM test No. 84- 59T (tunnel test).

As further shown in FIG. 1, rectangular block 10 includes a longitudinally extending groove 11 in one side 12 thereof into which a flare member 13 is adapted to be removably positioned. The width and depth of the groove is such that the flare member 13 is held frictionally in the groove 11. Flare member 13 may comprise a conventional flare from which the spike has been removed, but preferably comprises such a flare which has no wood piece in the end thereof. The flare preferably comprises a tube 14 of wax treated paper or the like which is filled with strontium nitrate and has a removable tubular cap 15, the end of which is formed with a conventional igniter so that, when it is rubber against the open end of the tube 14, the strontium nitrate ignites.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, the top surface of the block 10 is formed with an inclined opening 16 having substantially the diameter of the tube 14- so that tube 14 can be inserted therein. The axis of the opening 16 is inclined to the base, preferably at an angle of 60. The length of the base is substantially equal to the length of the flare, so that, when the flare is in position, the base 10 forms a firm support for the flare on the ground and the base underlies substantially all portions of the flare.

When the flare 13 is ignited, the flame, heat and dropping of the combustion products onto the base 10 causes the base to disintegrate by fusing so that when the flare completes burning only fragments of the base are left. These fragments will quickly fall apart under foot or when an automotive vehicle travels over them without any injury to the individual or damage to the vehicle.

When the flare member 13 is in storage position, the flare and flare member can be inserted into a suitable flexible container such as a bag of aluminum foil (FIG. 2) which can be sealed.

It can be seen that I have provided a road flare which will effectively illuminate the roadside in case of emergency, which can be readily handled, which does not utilize and leave any elements on the roadside that might prove hazardous to pedestrians or vehicles.

I claim:

1. A road flare comprising a substantially rectangular block of expanded plastic material which is self extinguishing and disintegrates under the action of heat, said block having an opening extending downwardly from the top surface thereof into which one end of the flare member is adapted to be removably positioned, said opening extending at an angle tothe vertical and horizontal, and

a flare member having one end thereof adapted to be.

thereover.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein said block is provided with a longitudinally extending groove in one surface thereof adapted to receive said flare'memher for storage of said flare member.

3. The combination set forth in claim 2 including a bag of metal foil surrounding said block and flare member when the flare member is in storage position to form a sealed package.

4. The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein said plastic material comprises closed cell expanded polystyrene.

1,100,529 Brubaker June 16, 1914 4 Edmands Sept. 23, 1930 Brown Feb. 16, 1937 Decker Dec. 28, 1937 Thorn May 29, 1956 Elsey June 11, 1957 Elsey June 11, 1957 Fortune Dec. 4, 1962 FOREIGN PATENTS Germany May 19, 1960 

1. A ROAD FLARE COMPRISING A SUBSTANTIALLY RECTANGULAR BLOCK OF EXPANDED PLASTIC MATERIAL WHICH IS SELF EXTINGUISHING AND DISINTEGRATES UNDER THE ACTION OF HEAT, SAID BLOCK HAVING AN OPENING EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY FROM THE TOP SURFACE THEREOF INTO WHICH ONE END OF THE FLARE MEMBER IS ADAPTED TO BE REMOVABLY POSITIONED, SAID OPENING EXTENDING AT AN ANGLE TO THE VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL, AND A FLARE MEMBER HAVING ONE END THEREOF ADAPTED TO BE RECEIVED IN SAID OPENING, SAID OPENING BEING SO POSITIONED WITH RESPECT TO SAID BLOCK THAT THE FLARE EXTENDS ANGULARLY UPWARDLY INTO OVERLYING RELATION WITH SAID BLOCK, THE LENGTH OF THE FLARE BEING SUCH THAT THE MAJOR PORTION THEREOF OVERLIES SAID BLOCK WHEREBY WHEN THE FLARE MEMBER IS IN POSITION AND IS IGNITED, THE COMBINED ACTION OF FLAME, HEAT AND COMBUSTION PRODUCTS CAUSES THE BLOCK TO DISINTEGRATE SO THAT WHEN THE FLARE MEMBER IS COMPLETELY BURNED, ONLY REMNANTS OF THE BLOCK ARE LEFT WHICH WILL BE QUICKLY DISINTERGRATED IN THE CASE OF PASSAGE OF AN AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLE THEREOVER. 